Empire (TSE:EMP.A) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) had its price target raised by BMO Capital Markets from C$44.00 to C$48.00 in a report published on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on EMP.A. TD Securities lifted their target price on Empire from C$44.00 to C$48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. National Bankshares boosted their price target on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. CIBC raised their price objective on Empire from C$47.00 to C$55.00 in a research report on Friday. Desjardins increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Empire from C$44.00 to C$47.00 in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Empire currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$48.57.

Empire Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of TSE:EMP.A opened at C$44.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51. Empire has a twelve month low of C$31.45 and a twelve month high of C$46.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$41.44 and a 200-day moving average of C$37.84.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Empire’s payout ratio is currently 29.20%.

Insider Activity at Empire

In other Empire news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 4,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$41.21, for a total value of C$199,868.50. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of Empire stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$40.26, for a total value of C$147,252.79. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Empire Company Profile

Empire Co Ltd key businesses are food retailing, investments, and other operations. The food retailing division operates through Empire’s subsidiary Sobeys and represents nearly all of the company’s income. This segment owns, affiliates, or franchises more than 1,500 stores in 10 provinces, under retail banners including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, Lawton’s Drug Stores, and multiple retail fuel locations.